How many deaths in Crystal bay, Bali so far?!

[yuhtnav]

Hi all,

I'm going to Bali in later this month. I'm still unable to decide whether to dive Crystal Bay.
I read a lot about Crystal bay's dangerous downward currents since 2 deaths last year, so I also learned about a Thai diver's death the year before. I started getting the feeling there're likely to be more deaths there. Does any one know where keeps the stats for that? I simply want to determine how dangerous it is and calculate the odd!

I got in touch with a dive shop in Bali. This one is reputable, recommended by Lonely Planet (not that I care about LP's recommendation when it comes to diving) and is a 5-star PADI dive shop. Following's what they said about diving in Crystal Bay.

"If you're only going to have one day available to dive, I would recommend doing the 3 dives trip to Manta Point, Crystal Bay and Drift dive (Drift dive sites (SD, PED, Sental, Buyug)). If you're unsure about Crystal Bay and would rather dive with your own private guide, we can provide this option for you for an extra Rp 400,000 per day. Crystal is not that dangerous provided it is dived correctly… Our Divemaster always take care of divers and there are a maximum of 4 divers per guide."

He made it sound like a totally doable & very reasonably safe one. I'm like sitting in the dark here, don't know what to believe really. *~*

Also, between Bali Diving Academy and Geko Dive, which one do you think better? Any other good dive operators there? (I found these shops from PADI shop locator and I only chose 5-star shops)

 

[Centrals]

1. How do you calculate the odd if there are so many unknown factors?
2. Under water conditions can change rapidly and unexpectedly. Look at the tide-table or weather forecast. No one knows for sure.
3. If you are NOT sure about your ability then you are probably not ready.
4. Is the dive(Crystal Bay) dangerous? Certainly NOT otherwise the fatility would be much much higher. Pay close attention to the dive briefing and react accordingly.
5. Dived with Geko Divers few yrs ago and they were fine.

 

[Madacub]

Hi Yuhtnav, I've been to Bali a few times and always dived with Aquamarine Bali. You could contact them and see their opinion, maybe they can come up with an alternative if you are unsure of Crystal Bay. Mantas are always fantastic to see, but I have not had a lot of luck at Manta Point, but that is just my experience. There is good diving all over Bali.

 

[Quero]

Both BDA and Geko are good operations.

 

[supergaijin]

I'm going out on a limb here, but it sounds like you're probably not ready for this dive. The reason I think this is that you feel you have to ask the question.

Divers have accidents exposing themselves in to conditions for which they are not capable of handling by themselves.

Certain reefs which are prone to current should only be attempted by 'qualified' divers- this doesn't mean simply having a license. I'm talking about those who have the ability to handle the potential conditions. Too many dive centers will just throw you in the water and hope for the best- or hope the guide will be able to control the events if they happen. Most of the time, they get away with it- most probably you will too.

However if you think that such a dive requires you to "calculate the odds" of surviving.... you should not do it, until you have the ability.... and this takes hours underwater.

In my opinion and experience, PADI 5* operators are no 'better' or 'safer' at this than small shops- they just have more facilities at the shop.

 

[divewench1]

Ask yourself this: do you know how to deal with a strong down current on your own? If you have experienced down currents before and are confident with your own ability to self rescue, then you will be fine in these conditions.

However, if you are a holiday diver, haven't dived for a while, not a strong swimmer, not comfortable in drift current, then I would give Crystal Bay a miss, unless you go for the one-to-one dive guide offered above, and still remember that your guide is not a baby sitter and you should still have the skills to complete this dive safely.

Usually, in my opinion, the divers that get into trouble at CB are the 'hero' divers, who will put themselves in the water to save face, rather than calling the dive if they feel they are not ready for difficult conditions.

The hero divers also tend not to listen to the dive guides briefing, they do not have experience in similar dive conditions, they are not prepared/trained to self rescue if the sh1t hits the fan, they do not stay close to the reef, they do not know how to kick efficiently (yes, it's true), they do not carry dSMB's if they get washed away from the group and have to surface alone in open sea.

Ask your dive guide to show you how to 'read' the conditions both above and below the water, it's not too difficult to judge the changing water conditions.

Most of the time CB is a beautiful, calm, picturesque dive, no stress. But sometimes, it's a complete bitch

Dive safely.

 

[gcwil]

I'm going out on a limb here, but it sounds like you're probably not ready for this dive. The reason I think this is that you feel you have to ask the question.

I agree with Supergaijin....

I've dived crystal bay a couple of times now (back in 2008 and again this year) it is a challenging dive in comparison to some of the popular reefs in Thailand and Malaysia which can shock some less experienced divers - but it is a fantastic dive with lots of life and if you are lucky enough to see any Mola Molas then it's even better

I am confident in my own abilities and that I can handle myself in a bit of current and cold water - I dive regularly in the UK so am used to less than perfect diving conditions. If I ever felt out of my depth (no pun intended) or at risk then I wouldn't hesitate to terminate my dive and return to the surface with my buddy.

I think the issue is that a lot of 'fun divers' rely on their DM too much and don't develop their own skills or self sufficiency. I've seen cases where a fun diver ends up in an OOA situation because they are trusting the DM to manage their air for them. In two of my dives in Crystal Bay I saw people sharing air at 20m. I met one girl who had just passed her AOW, she told me that she hit 50 bar at 25m 20 mins into the dive and told her DM - they then spotted a Mola Mola and the DM descended to get a better view, so she followed and ran out of air very soon after. The DM put her onto her octopus and ascended up to ~18m but continued the dive for another 15 minutes or so with the fun diver swimming alongside on his octo... luckily none of the other fun divers were relying on the DM for spare air on that dive!

So what I'm trying to say is, that if you are experienced and confident that you can dive independently (with a buddy) in strong currents and colder water than other parts of Asia then you should be fine - ensure that you know who your buddy is (tip: It's not your DM unless specified!) and plan your dive properly with your buddy and the help of your DM.

If you want a DM to hold your hand through a dive, are unsure about currents and your air consumption then Crystal Bay on a bad day is probably not for you just yet...

 

[Zippsy]

Having a guide that knows the site well AND listening to them is most important. I have only been there for only two dives but with thousands of dives, I have some pretty decent experience in all kinds of conditions. On my first dive there I was pissed off that the guide positioned himself in mid-water between me and the only mola-mola around. I was also pissed off when he signalled that we needed to ascend back into the shallow bay when I still had 120bar. I forgave him later though (for the second offence) after the dive because he obviously read the currents right. I made it back after a hard swim with about 30 bar. At the cleaning station I didn't even feel a current and, without his instructions, I probably would have stuck around a lot longer. Local knowledge is useful.

 

[Wingy]

Ive dived CB a couple of times with Bali Dive Academy over about a decade, and in my experience the site has never been what I would call challenging, the only thing i found annoying was a quite strong surge particularly around the the big table coral. Perhaps I just had good timing but have always dived in Bali with BDA and trust their abilities to judge a site and suitability of divers accordingly. I haven't dived there for a few years but hear often of overcrowding now and was shocked to see a vid of the trash floating around Manta Point. Perhaps too many operators doing too many have cash can dive trips have made a difference. I do agree with Supergaijin regarding if you are questioning the survivability of CB you obviously have a degree of concern so put it off til next time. There are plenty of nice enough dive sites around - I particularly like SD but better to wait til you feel comfortable - I once waited 8 years until I felt i was competent enough to dive one site.

 

[pughio83]

I dived it last year a few times, with my gf who had just done her advanced also, and it was on the whole ok, however she strictly followed the briefing, and to be honest on two occasions there was strong down current, and surge around the corner. To be honest, the most dangerous thing was the shear number of people and too many ppl chasing molas. And tbh only saw mola at CB in 3 dives, at Buyuk on the north we saw 7 in 3 dives!!